


When the Past Comes Knocking

by WonderPickle



Category: Scorpion (TV 2014)
Genre: F/M, Lil angsty, Toby/Amy, does that need to be tagged?, hey please read the notes thanks, if you've read my writing you know that, mentions of his gambling, nothing will happen between amy and toby, overdue conversation, tobys past, use of the word shit, with quintis
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-29
Updated: 2017-12-03
Packaged: 2019-02-08 11:01:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,130
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12863106
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WonderPickle/pseuds/WonderPickle
Summary: Amy's back. And she wants more than just an overdue hello.Quintis. Amy/Toby.





	1. Wanting What's Gone

**Author's Note:**

> I don't have the slightest idea what Amy is like. but I got the inspiration for this piece and I couldn't not write it.
> 
> also, I was thinking of doing a convo between Hap and Toby afterwards, but then decided not to. if anyone wants one, though, just let me know, because I'm still considering.

It’d been a quiet day in the garage. Each team member working on individual projects, catching up on work. A normal, non-stress day without a case. 

Scorpion rarely had any of those.

The door opened weakly, though rapidly. Had the mutual first thought not been Ralph returning from school, they all would’ve moved quicker. 

Paige raised her head, wanting to welcome her son. Happy started to say something before catching herself. 

Needless to say, it wasn’t Ralph.

She reacted faster than anyone. In a single jump, she moved from behind her work bench and in front of the woman. She planted her feet, taking a firm stance. Each of her individual muscles tensed.

“Get out,” she snarled. 

The woman nodded it off. But she was timid. “Nice to see you again, Happy.”

Never having met her, Paige and Cabe stared, confused. Sly mumbled something under his breath. 

“What the hell do you want?”

“Happy,” Paige began slowly, brows furrowed, “what’s going on here?”

“Remember how Toby had a fiancé a couple years ago?” Sylvester intervened, sloshing his words together nervously. 

Cabe brushed the border of whispering. “Son of a bitch.” 

In her graceful manner, Paige immediately bounded across the garage to Happy’s side. She allowed the woman enough space not to feel suffocated. “Hi, Amy,” she said as respectfully as she could, “I’m Paige. It’s-“

Happy shot a look at Paige, then proceeded to interlock her gaze with Amy’s, faster than a bullet escaped its barrel. “Don’t. She doesn’t deserve it, Paige.” 

“Happy-“ 

“Look, Happy,” Amy had an edge, but not nearly enough to compete with Happy’s, “I’m here for Toby.”

“Toby’s unavailable,” Cabe asserted.

Amy pursed her lips. Her heels shuffled back centimeters. “Then can you tell him I stopped by?”

Happy pounced on the opportunity to point out her mistake. “No, blondie, he  _ means _ Toby’s taken. A married man.” 

“Amy?”

Walter and Toby emerged from the loft, the latter nearly freezing on the steps. His slow was similar enough for one to perceive it as a halt. Walter descended quicker, internally assessing the situation. He and Paige shared a look.

Amy broke into an expression that almost resembled a smile. A ghost of past smiles, one appearing in past memories, only emerging out of relief. 

Face hardening, Happy focused her eyes on her husband. But he was distracted, the crease lines in his forehead shot high enough for his hat to obscure. Surprised mixed somewhere in there, too, causing his lips to form an out of place frown. He blinked. 

And then he got angry.

“I’ve got nothing to say to you.” 

It was an overdue confrontation between two inhabitants of bodies once lovers. Different people were inside the shells now-far different than the ones promised to each other years ago. 

“Toby-”

Her feet attempted to tackle the dozen feet between them, but Happy made sure it was only inches. Stepping in front of the other woman, she put a hand up. The hand with her rings.

Amy’s eyes flicked down. Her chin started dropping. 

Happy made sure of that before responding. “He said he doesn’t wanna talk.”

Shaking her head, Amy steeled her glance back at Toby. Neglecting her initial jolt, she disregarded Happy. “Toby, it’s  _ me _ . I just-”

“You what?” Happy snapped. “Talk about how great you think your new trophy hubby is? Wanna gloat about breaking his heart? Hurt him some more? I don’t think so.” 

Rolling her neck, Amy huffed. “Happy, please,” she protested, with a sharpness that exhibited her dip into frustration. “This doesn’t concern you.” 

Eyes widening, Paige jumped to grab her friend’s wrist. Happy immediately jerked out of the grasp, not hesitating for a second thought. Walter stifled a worried grunt. “Hell yeah it concerns me. I am his  _ wife _ . Something  _ you _ didn’t want. Hurt him bad in the process. He doesn’t need a reminder. And he  _ said _ he had nothing to say to you. So if you don’t move your sorry ass-”

“ _ Happy _ ,” Paige chastised. 

“I know he can talk for himself,” Amy retorted. But she flinched under Happy’s intensity.    


Uncomfortable, Toby twitched. “Happy,” he coaxed, “I...I’ll handle this.”   


Pupils shifting dangerously between him and Amy, she clenched her jaw. “Toby-“   


“You don’t need to fight this one for me, sweetheart. I got it.”   


Turning her back to Amy, Happy strode towards him. She made a point to noticeably kiss him on the cheek and squeeze his fingers before letting go. Toby flashed a twinkle in his brown eyes at her. They exchanged a wordless conversation through a language no one in the room understood.   


Then Toby shifted, gesturing for Amy. She followed, catching Happy’s line of sight as she passed by. Happy’s expression bit like a territorial puppy. Amy’s attempt to hold her own fell flat, so she glanced away.    


Toby led her into the back of the garage, past the kitchen, where there was a sense of privacy. Little did Amy know, that privacy didn’t exist amongst Scorpion. At least, not for long, anyways.   


He put his hands on his hips. “What are you doing here?”   


“I...I saw you in the newspaper.” Her hands clenched the strap on her purse, diving straight into her point. “Your team saved a lot of lives.”   


“We do that a lot,” Toby answered briskly. He reached to guide her shoulders away, done with the matter. “Is that all? Nice talking to ya, Amy.”   


Bending her knees, she put more weight into her heels. “No, Toby,” her tone indicated she wasn’t finished, prompting him to step back, “that’s  _ not _ all. I’ve been seeing you in the news a lot these past few years,” she said. “The boy in the sinkhole...that woman in the tar pit...all those people in Richard Elia’s tech building...”   


“Well. I guess you prevented my adventurous side from its awakening,” he snapped without missing a beat.   


She blinked like she’d expected that, promptly continuing. “Now that side of you exists. We can-”   


“You know what side  _ doesn’t _ exist? The one that used to love you.”   


Amy lowered her chin. “I figured.”   


Toby’s lips stretched apart, brows furrowing. “Hold on. Don’t tell me that’s why you flashed your face after all this time.”    


“Well...yes.”   


“You can’t be serious.”   


“I wanted to talk,” she defended.

He exercised his jaw muscles. “Then you better get started.”

A heavy sigh passed through her mouth. He determined the exasperation to be directed at herself, not him. “I think...I think I might’ve made a mistake. Breaking off the engagement.”

“Your apology is a few years too late.” 

“But is it?” She reached for his hands, and he pulled them away. Her lips thinned at the action. 

“ _ Yes _ . You’re with Quincy,” he countered. “And I’m happily married.”

Amy squinted. “Quincy and I are...going through a rough patch.”   


Sarcasm heavy, he replied, “Isn’t that a bummer.”

“Two years ago, you came after him!” Amy protested. Her voice was surprisingly calm. “You weren’t over me. I still don’t think you are. And now you’re making money, you’re stable-”   


“I came after him for a case we were working,” Toby shut down. “One of his colleagues was dead. I had to pretend I actually wanted that job from him.”

“There was jealousy, Toby.”

“Amy...in my mind you were like a prize,” he disagreed. “I didn’t treat you like a person. You were just someone that I used to care about, and he’d taken that away, and my bitterness about being hurt was still in my head. Not bitterness about you  _ yourself _ leaving me. I was in love with Happy.”

“You were furious with him.” Her eyes blinked back flecks of disbelief. 

She was never the smarter one.

“For taking away something I once cared about. For  _ winning _ . Later that day...Happy proved she was the one for me,” Toby said.   


“You never stopped loving me.” She deflected his reasonable responses. She was desperate, clinging to scraps for whatever she thought she could get. 

“Uh... _ yeah _ ...I did.”

“You’re a genius psychiatrist.” Amy stepped closer, blonde ponytail shifting as she shook her head. “Don’t lie to yourself.”

“Amy, the fact that you’re coming back here now means _you_ don’t love _me_ _either_. You and Quincy are hitting some bumps. And you’ve seen that I’m the same as him now-I have a job and money and stability. But I’m changed. The guy that used to love you hit the road years back. I kinda like the one I am. He’s got a good life.”

Seeming not to have heard him, she stretched her toes and leaned forward. She wanted a kiss. She wanted to retain the feeling of being loved and desired, since as of recently, Quincy failed to provide it. 

Toby pulled back before she even got close.   


Swallowing, he looked her in the eye. Seriously. Dully. Mundanely. Far off from hitting the mark of providing evidence he was in love.  _ Far _ . “A few years ago, this...this was all I wanted.” For you to take me back and realize you still wanted to be with me,” he admitted. “But then I got my shit together. I fell in love with the most amazing woman in the world.” His ring finger jumped into view. “We’re husband and wife now. And she’s pregnant. I’m... _ happy _ .”    


Amy gulped meekly, consuming a slew of uninterrupted seconds before she answered. She stared at the floor, body visibly shrinking as the confidence deflated. “What does she have that I don’t?”

Toby didn’t need much time to think. He intended for his answer to sting. “She tried to give up on us...but she came back. And she hasn’t given up since. She works at our relationship, Amy. She’s determined not to let it fail.”   


“I tried for a while,” she claimed. 

“You cheated on me with Quincy.”

Shoulders sinking against her chest, Amy sighed. The determination she possessed walking into the garage barely infused with her words. “I’m sorry.”

“You’re upset.” Toby didn’t explicitly accept the apology. “You’re looking for a distraction. I would’ve been the perfect solution. We have a history-we’re familiars. It was easy for me to be your first choice to keep your mind away from your marital spats. Seeing me in the news helped push that idea.”  

“But you’re... _happy_ ,” she stated, her train slipping off the same tracks his traveled. “I never made you happy.”

He winced. “For a time you did. And then you realized our relationship was like tryna put a broken key in a lock. Didn’t fit once it was ruined. It made you miserable. You made me miserable…and vice versa...I tried to hold it together. You were the last piece of stability in my crumbling world, I fixated on that instead of my feelings. But, by then, I didn’t love you. And you were out the door anyway.”

Amy glanced at Happy, who was obviously trying to abstain from staring at them. She was in loose conversation with Paige, slipping in additions sporadically, not often. Her stomach bump hadn’t been noticeable until Toby pointed it out, but once he did, Amy couldn’t unsee it. 

Toby’s words finally began to register. “I guess you really played your cards right, huh?”   


“No. Falling in love with her wasn’t luck. Just a matter of when,” he contradicted. He shifted his weight. “Besides, I’m not big on gambling metaphors anymore.”    


Amy raised her brows. “Did you quit?”   


Toby nodded. “Yeah.”

She clearly wasn’t sure how to react. “Toby,” she sputtered. “That’s amazing!”

“Don’t get any ideas,” he assured. “I quit for her.” 

Her lips fell, shoulders following their lead. Somewhere in the midst of several breaths, she said, “Wow. I can’t believe you did it. You...you couldn’t do that for me.”

“And you couldn’t love me in spite of that.” 

Amy shook her head slowly, voice softening. “That’s why we didn’t work out.” 

“Yeah.” He paused for a minute that seemed like five. “Sorry about you and Quincy. But there’s nothing I can do for you.”

She put a hand on his shoulder. Dull bitterness and pity passed between them where sparks flew years ago. Sometimes sparks could lead to fires. And fires burned anyone nearby. “Congratulations...again...on your family. And...finally getting to be happy.”


	2. Infinite

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Happy and Toby talk.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you for the positivity on this story! I appreciate every review, kudos, and read. :)
> 
> here's the Quintis talk, for anyone that wanted to read it. enjoy!

Amy left, and a trail of discomfort and bitterness stood in her wake. She’d given Happy some final words while gesturing towards the pregnancy bump.  _ “I’m...sorry. For being so hostile earlier. ...Please take care of him, okay? And take care of that baby.”  _

Happy’s feelings remained far from guilty, but rather curious as to what her husband and his ex discussed.

When Toby walked out, a few minutes after Amy did, he immediately headed towards his wife. She kept her eyes on her workbench. He came to a rest at its edge, opposite of her. 

Happy evaluated his creased forehead, his fingers arched against the workbench, his hunched shoulders. 

He needed her. 

Happy’s hands wanted to continue working, to work for hours and ignore the situation, but her brain and her heart commanded her to do the opposite, tackle the emotional problems head on, like Toby taught her to. 

Her heart and her brain rarely agreed on anything. So even if she thought she could, it wasn’t the moment to pick a side.

The tools came to a rest.

It’s what Toby needed, anyway. And he deserved her full attention. 

He would always come first.

Happy started to open her mouth. Then he asked, “Hap, are you okay?”

“ _ Me _ ? I’m fine.” Taken off guard, Happy blinked. There he was putting  _ her _ first, when  _ he _ definitely wasn’t  _ all good _ . “You, on the other hand, probably aren’t. Are  _ you _ okay?”

“Yeah.” Toby paused. “Yeah, I’m okay. But I’m more worried about you.”

“I’m worried about  _ you _ ,” she countered. A long exhale stole the space in the conversation that would’ve brought her next sentence into the limelight. He waited, though, and she pressed on. “This wasn’t just some old flame, Toby. This was the soon-to-be-wife that called it quits and broke your gambling crazed heart.” 

Toby squeezed her fingers. Their rings brushed against each other, like two pieces of a puzzle falling into place amongst the image of hands infinitely entwined. “You’re my wife. You’re all I care about, Hap. I came over here to check on you. …But I don’t want to push you. If you’re-“   


“Don’t make this about me.” Happy returned the pulse.   


“It’s every bit about you as me.”   


She frowned. “Not everything has to be, doc. This is primarily a  _ you _ situation. I want you to...I don’t know...put  _ yourself _ first,” she stated. “Honestly, I’m not great, but I’m doing better than you. Whatever you gotta say-hit me. I’m here.”   


His eyes brightened, and his smile followed suit. He gave her  _ that _ look-the one no man had ever reached far enough into the depths of his soul to bring alive. And she gazed back-like no lover had ever responded, with love that burned brighter than all the stars in the sky. 

His tone fell short in comparison to his expression, though his words shared the same message. “Happy Quinn,” he said, “I love you so much.”    


“Ditto.”  _ I love you, too. _ She put everything into her stare. “That’s why I want you to talk to me.” She pressed her lips together, clarifying, “If you’re up for it.”   


Shifting his gaze at her wedding band, he pushed an usually deep sigh from his nose. He broke their shared line of sight. “Happy, when I saw Amy today, it was...”   


“Difficult?” she proposed, keeping her eyes steady on him.   


“Weird.” Toby nodded. “I was desperate for her to come back three years ago. I was  _ manic _ . And I channeled all that into nonstop gambling. Which only helped her realize she made the right choice leaving me. ...Happy, I was drinking-I was gambling-I was  _ a dumpster fire _ .”   


“You were pretty damn miserable,” she mumbled softly, sore from the memory of his pain.    


“As my best friend, you put out the fire. And you didn’t even realize you had me falling in love with you in the process.”   


The rising and falling in her chest slowed.   


Toby continued. “Amy’s surprise visit didn’t make me feel that old heartbreak. It’s nonexistent. More like tying up a loose end, finally coming to a conclusion, if you will.” He looked like he was on the verge of laughing, like an awkward chuckle glued itself to the remembrance. “I got over it a long time ago. I just felt bitterness today, like anyone has for an ex. Resentment. All that. Nothing- _ nothing _ tethered to  _ any _ romantic feelings.” 

Happy knew never in a million years would he still love that woman. But she thought maybe the encounter would’ve stung. They never talked about Amy-neither of them ever wanted to. After she realized the experience with Quincy a few years back was nothing more than a loser’s fit of vexation, they both left Amy in the past. Happy figured everything was taken care of-after all,  _ her _ list of exes failed to even reach five, and her list of exes she’d been with for more than a month hit a big fat zero. She wasn’t so in tune. Though Toby hadn’t known anything needed to be sewn shut, either, and Happy restrained from kicking herself. 

“How did she feel?”

He didn’t hesitate to provide an honest answer. “She wanted to rekindle the fire.”    


Happy’s head snapped up, her fingers curling inside his. “That son of a bitch…” 

Toby talked before she could utter the long stream of curses on her tongue. “She and Quincy are having some issues,” he reassured. “She came to me for comfort, for nostalgia, so she could have a sense of familiarity and feel wanted. When I denied her, she couldn’t accept it, convinced I was in love with her.”

Simultaneously, Happy stiffened and cringed. 

“Don’t worry, baby. We talked it out. She understands now.”

She tilted her head comprehensively. “She apologized when she was walking out. Wished us luck. I thought it was a dig.”

“And you didn’t snap back?”

The corner of her upper lip quirked. “She was out the door before I could. ...Plus, Paige was looming over me like a mama bear with a pre-prepped lecture if I made a single snarky peep.” 

Toby grinned, which then faded into a light smile, free from memories of the past. “It doesn’t matter now, anyway. Hopefully she’s gone for good.”

“Even if she does, she’ll never get what she wants.”

He tapped the diamond on her ring with his finger. “Forever started when we met. Amy was only a roadblock. And our road just keeps on going, Happy-no matter what stands in the way.” 


End file.
